I tried these spots on Friday at lunch. The first is on the corner of the condo across from the Courthouse on Orange. The second is past Michigan on South Orange in a strip mall on the left after the one with Mooyah in it. The third is in the old gas station that has the Foxtail Coffee on Curry Ford Rd. The fourth is next to So Dough and Tin & Taco on Michigan near South Orange. The last is on the corner of South Orange and Michigan. Four out five were replacements for places I had been to too recently. I was not relishing this retracing of steps.
Uma - This must be the fourth Japanese restaurant of this type that has tried to make a go at it at this location. I didn't like the value proposition of five pieces plus a roll and tea for $20, so, I just grabbed a hamachi roll for $8 and skeedadled. It was better than expected. Fairly respectable rice. Lots of yellowtail. Although, that lacked flavor. Second time recently that yellowtail had disappointed. Eight wide pieces. Tobiko covered. Fresh wasabi. A bit loosely rolled. Their sashimi/nigiri sets are all over $30. Cold apps all over $16. Ten ramens over $17. Signature rolls over $16. Others start at $7. One piece of nigiri starts at $5. Only eleven types. The place is small. Windows. Ten tables. Sushi bar on the left. Clean. Interesting rope lights. No parking. One waitress. They weren't ready to serve at 11:30 though they open at 11am. I thought it was in another condo complex. Not that thrilled to be here eating basically the same menu for a fourth time. One other diner. Open since December. Not the space to try to try an elevated experience.
Sabai Thai Street Food - I had the Sabai fried rice for $16. Excellent. Not greasy. Short, barbed grains of rice. Lingering essence of Thai basil. Little, red hot balls of pepper (chiltepin?). Scallions. It starts with a sweet Thai sausage and they let you add three meats. I added beef, pork and chicken. None of these were adulterated. Good. A ton of them. Maybe forty percent of the dish. They have six apps ($5-$11), three soups ($12-$17), two salads ($11-$14), ten mains ($14-$18) and two desserts ($8-$12). Favs like larb, pad thai, papaya salad, tom kha in addition to fun items like jerky and crab fried rice. Isan style. Thai mother and son duo in the kitchen. No wait staff. Just a manager. Polite. Small. Maybe seven tables. They did a nice reno. Was Dragon King. Framed pics of slice of life scenes on the left wall. About half full. It will be a Favorite. Pricing was fair. Open for a month or so. Name means something pleasant like good energy.
Raine's Pizza - Also open for a month or so. I just had a slice for $4.50. Should have ordered a $18 16" pie. Excellent. Great chew. Good cheese. Proper spicy garlic tomato marinara. Grated parmesan. And this was a reheat job! They had six pre-made styles or you can design your own. $10 garlic knots. Two $8 salads. You can sit in the communal space. Didn't get a look at the oven. It has to be a wood or coal fire one. Closed M and Tu. In the Leguminati space. Will be a Fav.
Ligature Coffee - A few weeks old. Grabbed a good $2 lemonade. They do tea and coffee. No food I believe. But they have merch. Stark set up. One large room with bar area on the right rear. One server/pourer. Five circular tables for two and one square one for four on the left. Packed with what if we were in Los Angeles would call "screenwriters". Are there still people without wifi at home? Parking is minimal. They need a sign. Impossible to spot from the street.
Banh Mi Go - This was the most annoying change of ownwership. I think this is the fourth place I have sampled at this location in the last two years. It was JUST Mii Cafe. Guess what I had then? Correct. A banh mi. So what did I do this time? Three protein banh mi for $11. I tried steak, pork belly and chicken. All good. Came with pate and the usual veg. Baguette was proper-ish. Probably supermarket. Great value. And I usually hate all grilled meat bahn mi. The meat is usually gristle. The menu is similar to Mii Cafe. A little Chinese-y now. Five apps like egg rolls and dumplings ($5-$6). $3.50 spring rolls (6 kinds). Six bahn mi ($8-$11). Six rice dishes ($12-$16). Five pho ($14-$17). Five three for $12 bao. Eight vermicelli (bun) bowls ($15-$16). Great pricing. I love the addition of the Chinese stuff. The place has the same layout. Looks cleaner/fresher though. Parking is minimal. Open for less than a few weeks. Upgrade from Mii Cafe. Probably a Fav. Which is impressive because I was seriously considering just pretending it hadn't changed hands. Closed Sunday. I probably should have found out if the apps are frozen or home made.
*Guess what? Lane closures on I4 due to a crash. Just like Monday. Thankfully this was farther towards Disney this time. Can law enforcement focus on these imbeciles instead of speeders? Stop speed trapping and start driving along with us so that you can see the nonsense we have to put up with. Maybe even discourage it. Here are some things to look out for: fast laners going under the speed limit, semis in the fast lane, people passing in the slow lanes, people swerving in and out of lanes, people racing off the hov lanes, people racing off exits, misloaded truck beds, people driving on spare tires, obviously unroadworthy vehicles, texters, speakerphoners, make up puteroners, seniors, Canadians, people with things (usually weed masking pine fresheners) dangling from their rear view mirror, cars with PR paraphenalia, jeeps with rubber duckies on the dashboard, cars with the stench of weed emanating from them, pick up trucks that think they are sports cars, Hyndai Sonatas, lawn maintenace trucks...